Phillips 66 Boosts Capital Expenditures, Buybacks

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) said Wednesday that its board authorized $3.9 billion in capital expenditures this year, an increase of $1.2 billion for the energy manufacturing and logistics company.

Phillips 66 said the increase is meant to spur development of a liquid petroleum gas export terminal and fund some of its recent acquisitions, such as its purchase of Spectrum Corp., a specialty lubricants company.

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The board also approved an additional $2 billion share-repurchase program.

Chairman and Chief Executive Greg Garland said the moves would add financial flexibility, allowing the company to increase investment in higher valued business lines while also boosting dividends and stock repurchases.

The company, which was spun off from ConocoPhillips in 2012, said its cumulative share repurchases totaled $3.2 billion through the first quarter of the year. Its board has approved $7 billion in share repurchases since the third quarter of 2012.

The company has benefited in recent quarters from access to lower-priced crudes, though its refining segment has been hurt by planned downtime at several refineries.

In April it reported its first-quarter earnings rose on a gain from its sale of Phillips Specialty Products Inc. unit to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.